The Knesset narrowly rejected a bill Wednesday that would have permitted public transportation to operate on the Jewish Sabbath, voting 48-43 against the measure.
Gilad Kariv, a lawmaker for Israel’s left-wing The Democrats Party and an ordained Reform rabbi, sponsored the measure, which sought to end a decades-old restriction that halts most public buses and trains from Friday evening through Saturday evening in observance of Shabbat.
Religious parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition strongly opposed the bill, which they view as violating Jewish law and tradition.
Kariv, a longtime advocate for religious pluralism, has argued that the ban disproportionately affects secular Israelis, those who cannot afford cars and workers who need weekend transportation.
Many Arab-majority areas and Tel Aviv operate limited private services during Shabbat. Haifa has consistently maintained partial public transportation service on Shabbat since the founding of Israel.
